Memory Eternal

Our very dear Mia, Charlotte, passed away today. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers. She was a truly lovely woman whom we will all miss. A treasure in my life, and the lives of many others!

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays!!! Here is a picture of Lucas working very hard last weekend on the gravy. We spent the weekend in California with Spencer, Sarah, and Sarah's parents. We had a great time resting, knitting, and eating a lot of great food (like the gravy on the left.)
Happy Holidays!!! Here is a picture of Lucas working very hard last weekend on the gravy. We spent the weekend in California with Spencer, Sarah, and Sarah's parents. We had a great time resting, knitting, and eating a lot of great food (like the gravy on the left.)
Since then we had a busy week back at home. I, Sabrina, spent the week as acting principal. My principal was out of town so I filled in. It kept me running, all day, but certainly solidified that I would like to be an administrator.
We are also spending much of our time at the Gallagher's as Sally's mom is not well. We started hospice last week and do not anticipate much that Mia will be alive much longer. It has been a very hard and sad time.
Today we moved Liam to his new home. We found an amazing place up the road towards Independence that is a natural horse boarding facility and it is perfect for us. He met his new herd today and will spend some time getting acclimated this week. Below is him eating breakfast with Jake this morning before we had to go. We were pretty sad to leave Jake after two years of them being together. But, we are hoping Carla will be moving out to meet us soon! :)



Hope you stay warm and have a good December. You can please be thinking and praying for us as we try to care for Mia and the rest of the Gallaghers.

A fall day!

We had a great fall day this past Saturday. It was so beautiful and we got to enjoy it to its fullness. Tonya and I lead a girls group with our fifth grade girls during the year that talks about manners, feelings, and body changes. Then one weekend a month we go out on a Saturday to do something fun together. Well, this past Saturday was our October date. We went to the pumpkin patch to find our perfect pumpkins and then back to our house to eat lunch and carve pumpkins. It was a great day!!!

Another pool party!

Last weekend was Sam's annual pool party. Lucas was busy being a woodsman so Sally and I took Sammy Sam for his big party. Some how I almost think he knew because he was up early bounding in our room, which is mostly unusual for a Saturday morning. We loaded him in the car and headed to the pool. Last year we showed up about 20 minutes late, which we learned this year is much better than being on time. When we were on time this year we had to wait in line. As some of you know, Sam is extremely vocal and waiting in line amidst many other dogs and outside a giant swimming pool was more than he could handle. His howling and yelping had some concerned, but we knew it was just typical Sam. Thankfully Sally stood in line while Sam and I paced the parking lot on the far side until it was our time to go in. Once in we could just let him go and then he was so happy! Plus Lucas brought home a truck full of fire wood-it was a great day for all of us!

In certainly more important news Andy has been recovering pretty well over the past couple of weeks. He is taking some classes at OSU and seems to be doing okay managing the course load and studying. His eyes are still not quite up to par so he is having to work pretty hard, but seems eager to be doing anything. What is super cool about the whole thing is that Rogue Brewery, a brewery in Newport, has become a major player in this whole story. Some of you know already that a Rogue delivery guy was the first on the scene of the accident and he climbed in the car and helped to clot the major head wound, helping to save ANdy's life until help could come. Well, since then word got back to Rogue about Andy and they have majorly come through. First they donated TWO kegs of beer to our Church's Greek Festival next weekend. And, then, this week they sent Andy TWO boxes full of stuff: a free sweatshirt, a T-shirt, a hat, a poster, a flag...amazing. I mean really, Andy should be sending them stuff (which is what we are in the process of doing now.) Anyway, I just think it is pretty amazing how the story has developed. Especially considering that our Uncle Robbie was one of the creators of Rogue Brewery...pretty cool huh?

Well, other than that, things are pretty normal. It is definitly fall here in Albany, especially in the morning...brrr... and the garden is reaching its end. Liam is growing in his winter coat and Sam looks like he is settling in for the winter. Hope you are doing great and enjoying the sunshine!

Watching our garden grow...

Watching our garden grow has definitely been a major highlight of the summer. Being that this was our first round at this house we had not expected overwhelming success-however, thus far we have a hearty row of corn, enormous tomato plants, some quality peppers, and the green beans and cucumbers even survived the jumanji like pumpkin plant that has grown over them. If you are looking for pumpkins this fall, please feel free to come by our FREE patch! :) I put picks of the garden and our house (and our handsome yet injured dog), for those interested in seeing, on the web album page for your enjoyment!

It's HOOOTTTTT

Well, we in the tin can (as Sally call's it) are really cookin'. As you can see from the photo, even Sam has his struggles with the new heat. However, we do have the process down to a science. We close the blinds and windows at around 10 and open them around 8:30 at night. We turn on all of the fans at full speed and if you don't mind sleeping in an airplane it really is no problem. We also have a slight bug problem; not a single screen fits the window frame it is in. So, once it is dusk we stop using all lights. We light a candle and carry it around room to room in order to eliminate bugs coming inside and it works!

Hope you are staying cool!

Look Look Sarah...

Just in case anyone actually reads this anymore I am actually posting! :) As you can see from the picture (note what is in Lucas's hand in the pic) the name of my blog is no longer legit as my name is technically Mrs. Alexander, but for now some things are not going to change.

Lucas and I are having a great summer. We spent a week in Virginia visiting family and having a second wedding reception, which was great. Then we spent a week resting in Maine. We stayed on Mount Desert Island in Acadia National Park. Our Bed and Breakfast was on what they called the "Quietside of the Island" and indeed it was. We had a lovely time sleeping and hiking around-playing it very casual. Mostly we ate A LOT of amazing food. We did have some unique adventures while we were there...hitch hiking, climbing the face of a rock mountain...things like that-we had a great time.

Since returning home I have been spending time working on our garden-something I am sooo excited about. I was going to take a picture but I don't know where the camera is-moving does that, you know. But I can describe it, the corn is WAIST high, I have at least 20 green tomatoes, the pumpkin is ginormous and my peppers look spectacular...pretty great.

Not much else is scheduled for the summer besides hanging around and enjoying the time off. I am looking forward to a week in Santa Rosa in August with Spencer and Sarah, but otherwise just chillin' here. Check out the web album for some of my favorite wedding pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23

Hope you are all enjoying your summertime!!

Love Sabrina for the Alexanders!

SPRING at last!!!

It has finally come! We celebrated Pascha (Eastern Orthodox Easter) this weekend and now it feels like spring is finally here-sunshine, flowers, and quality allergies! :) It has been a long few months-consumed by 5th graders and Lebanon politics-but I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel...the endless hope of Spring!
With Pascha come it is now time to actually finalize the wedding plans. With opting for a small, simple wedding I think I have been fooled into thinking that there aren't things to do....So, it is time to make lists and start getting things ready! ) Crazy!
We have found a place to live here in Albany that we are very excited about and Lucas is moving there this week in anticipation. We have even set our honeymoon plans; Maine in June after school gets out. So, really, the big stuff is done! :)
Hope you are all doing well, and I promise to try and actually update this silly thing, and even add some pictures!

The Whole Story

Well, we picked out the ring a few weeks ago and have been waiting for it. It seems Lucas has been spinning a web of lies about when it would be ready...making me think it was weeks away! Figures!
Anyway, Wednesday night is choir practice at Father Steve's and Mona's so I was there practicing. In the middle of choir he walked in and proposed, no pause or anything. It was wonderfully sweet and fun; I am so grateful. He set it up with Courtney earlier and he was able to film the whole thing. I could not have been happier with how it went. Our church family was there to watch and enjoy the whole thing with us! It was lovely!
The wedding is set for May 24th, the Sunday of memorial day weekend. It is going to be a small wedding at our church in Corvallis.
Thank you to everyone for your wonderful support, we are so excited and happy!
We will keep you updated!

The RING

Well, it is official, tonight Lucas asked the big question! SOOOOO exciting! Here is the pic...

A New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope you have all had a great start to the year! Lucas and I had a very nice winter holiday and now are back to the normal life. The first week back to school proved to be as busy as ever, but it was so nice to see the kiddos.

We spent part of break up in OC visiting the fam-including spending time with Sarah and Spencer as they have moved down from Bamfield-YEY! We are all pretty stoked-mind you Spencer is now gone to Australia and Sarah is in California, but I know that I get to see them soon again so it still counts as pretty exciting!

Lucas and I enjoyed our first Christmas in the same state. He has already had one guitar lesson; his present from me this year. We, unfortunately, did not get to enjoy much snow. We are too far south and therefore missed out on the Artic Blast. However, we did get to enjoy the tail end of it up in P-town. As you can see in the picture, we did have a little bit though-enough for the horses to enjoy! I am hoping for more though-I always want more snow!!!

That's all from the South Valley...

Have a great weekend!

Much to be Thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Though I have been listening to Christmas carols for the past week or so, I was still able to enjoy the holiday. We had a wonderful day with the grandparents. Spencer and Sarah are still in Canada, Les is hunting, and Wendy and Michelle were somewhere else, but the rest of us chowed down.

It was special to have Lucas with us, finally, and to enjoy time with the grandparents. I am so thankful to have them with us here!

Otherwise mom, Lucas, and I have lazed around-not doing much of anything! Can't beat that? I hope you all had an equally as enjoyable holiday! Be sure to check the web album for more pics!

http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23

A jaunt through the woods

Last week Mrs. Cairo and I took our kiddos to the forest for a hike. It was the end of our unit on forestry and turned out to be a great day. We took 60 kids and only one fell-much to the surprise of my sister Cheryl and Lucas who were betting on 10 kids down! Ha-take that! There was minimal whining and the weather even cooperated! It was a great day and Tonya and I always have fun when we can get out and about!

Otherwise things have been going along just great. Tonya and I had our big veteran's event on the 6th. The kids did a wonderful job and the turn out was outstanding. Mom and Les came down and they brought grandpa too. In the end we had about 250 veteran's and their families for the dinner. It was a lot of people! Grandpa said he had a very nice time but next year he wants to help! :) Of course!

Lucas has been busy working and moved into a place of his own. We are headed to P-town for Thanksgiving this week, a small crew made up mostly of grandparents, so it should be a nice day.

Hope you all have a great week and wonderful holiday!

Alive...

Greetings to you all. I am sorry to say that it has taken me this long to get on my computer and blog...but lets just put it this way. Today, I pulled my blinds for the first time in three weeks, because it was the first time I was here in the day light in three weeks...I wanted to blog about our great weekend visiting Spencer and Sarah in Bamfield (that was two weeks ago) then I wanted to blog about the Greek fest (that was last weekend) and now here I am...and all I have to blog about is weekends. Bamfield was amazing. We spent the weekend hiking around and cooking. We even got to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving...that was great! We saw three bears, a bunch of eagles and lots of great starfish.

Last weekend, we had the Greek fest which was a blast and went super well. Other then that I have mainly just gone to meetings. Oh, well last night was the school carnival and I did make over 200 snow cones which was very fun! Needless to say it has just been busy. I keep praying it will slow down so I have big hopes. My greetings to you all especially Chrissy who I was supposed to call back a week ago, Sarah Glathar who I was supposed to email three weeks ago, my mother who I wanted to go see two weeks ago, my brother who I havn't talked to in days, Kendra who lives 10 minutes away and I haven't seen in weeks, Melinda who is back from her honeymoon, Jess who's blog I haven't even been able to check, Megan who I haven't called back all week...hmmm should I go on...Oh you too Kels...congrats on graduating...hope to talk to you all soon...or at least in April when I am not president anymore! :) Be sure to check out our Bamfield pics on the web album http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23

A Great Weekend!

We had a great weekend. As you can see above, one part of the weekend was a trip to the waterpark with Sam. Corvallis's water park has an end of the season dog party before draining their pools. Lucas and I were a little hesitant, not knowing what it would be like, but it was a blast! Sam about freaked out when he saw ALL of the dogs and WATER! Oh my gosh, what else is there, except maybe a pool full of food! :) Anyway, the whole thing was an absolute riot, unfortunately the pics aren't very good because he never stayed in one place long to take a picture. There was way too many friends and too much to do to waste time on a photo-op. This event will now be a permanent on our event calendar, as I am sure it is on Sam's too!

We also went to a wedding. My very good friend Melinda and Jeff were married this weekend and it was great! We had a wonderful time dancing with lots of old friends and catching up on all the news!

Now, we are getting ready to head up to Canada on Friday to see Spencer. With Spencer and Sarah preparing to move around Christmastime we want to get up to Bamfield one more time!

Hope you are having a great week so far! Be sure to look on the web album at the swim party pics! http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23

Time with the Fam

We had a great Saturday up in Portland. Spencer and Sarah were down to celebrate Chris's wedding (Sarah's brother) so we were actually able to celebrate Spencer's birthday! That was a special treat as I have not seen Spencer around his birthday in years!

With grandpa and grandma we cooked out and hung around for a great Saturday. What is even crazier is that after our trip up to Bamfield next month I will have seen Spencer in August, September and October...that is crazy! :)

Otherwise everything else is status quo. It has been a busy week and I am looking forward to a somewhat unplanned weekend...that will be a treat!

The picture above is one I will cherish forever...I am grateful for every moment I get to spend with my grandparents and feel so blessed to still have them in my life. (See the web album for the rest of the pics)

Have a good one.

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, it is two weeks in and I think I can come up for air for a little bit! The beginning of the school year is always so insane, I can hardly believe all that has to happen each day. I do have a pretty great class...so far. I have enjoyed the first couple of weeks and what we call the "honeymoon period." This is the time when they still walk in a nice quiet line because they are a little bit afraid and not sure what might happen. :) I like this time of year!

However, I am pretty grateful for the weekend. After a week of meetings and late, late nights, I am looking forward to some R and R. I am also very excited because Lucas and I are headed to the parents tomorrow to see Spencer and Sarah for Spence's birthday. They are in town for the weekend and that is pretty exciting!

The pic above is my room this year. Mom took this the day she came and helped me organize all of my cabinets; something I am so grateful for!

Hope your September is going great! Miss Wood

One Last Hooray!

Well, sadly, summer has concluded in the life of us. Lucas has started his new job at Corvallis Clinic (which he loves!) And I return to work Monday. This is a sad day, truly. Before giving into the daily demands of life back at work Kendra and I spent some time in Bamfield with my brother (but no Sarah, we missed you Sarah!). After a very uneventful trip up to Bamfield we spent time boating, hiking around, and spying on neighboring boaters. The weather was outstanding, though the wildlife count was not so much. We left with a measly count of: 1 Heron, a few eagles, propoises, and two elk. Yes, those are all beautiful animals, and each was enjoyable to look at but we were in it for the gold-whale and bear. We saw no sign of whale at all and A LOT of bear poo. Sadly the poo never took us anywhere, though every pile was always fresh...sad day.

After chilling in Bamfield we started our trek out...leaving at 5 am in order to be in Victoria in time for our 10:30 am ferry. Unfortunately, we didn't quite make that ferry. The bottom line is this: lost on endless logging roads with no gas and no map....oops.

Five hours later we popped out on some road and alas we made it to Victoria in time for the 3 pm ferry. Yikes! :)

However, fun was had by all and it of course makes a good story! Now, I am sadly back to work. Yesterday mom came down and helped me organize cabinets so I at least feel better going Monday. Who doesn't feel good when their cabinets are organized...right Jess? :)

Hope ya'll are doing great!

p.s. Bamfield pics are posted on the web album!

Where were you at 24?

We celebrated Kendra's 24th birthday this weekend which brought up the question: where were you when you were 24? For some of us that wasn't too long ago and for others it was a bit ago...
If you want to see our pictures from our great birthday extravaganza be sure to check out the album! http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23.

A summer adventure!

Yes, I do still know how to post on my blog! I am sure no one actually checks it anymore because I havn't posted in so long, I will have to send out an email telling people to look again! :)
Well, as many of you know Lucas and I have finally arrived back here in Oregon. I spent two weeks in Virginia with him, helping him to pack and leave. Then we left Richmond for a trek across country. We stayed a night in the Appalachians right on the border of West Virginia and stopped to see some family of his. It was a gorgeous spot, just buggy!
Next we drove to Monticello, IL to see my family. We spent a couple of days there visiting and eating! :) It was wonderful!
From there we drove across Iowa and up to South Dakota. We camped in Canton and enjoyed a pretty great lightning storm. We drove across South Dakota making many stops (see photos) and enjoyed the high speed limit!
Next we stopped in Wyoming to camp and then headed on for Montana, after staying one night there we finished off the drive to Albany; stopping twice to eat with Mom and Les who were making the same drive (Lunch in Spokana, dinner in Clackamas!)
We had a wonderful trip and are now getting settled back in to normal life. If you would like to see pictures from our trip please look at my album posted on http://picasaweb.google.com/misswood23.
Ta-Ta